The Cardinals will tip off the 2026-27 season against the Mocs on Monday, Nov. 2, then host the Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 7, according to copies of signed contracts between the programs obtained by The Courier Journal via an open records request. Both visitors will be compensated $100,000.
Start times had not yet been determined at the time of publication.
Fresh off its first NCAA Tournament win since 2017, UofL enters Kelsey’s third go-around with louisville/2026/05/11/louisville-basketball-2026-27-roster-acc-transfer-portal-recruiting-rankings-freshmen-coaches/89488869007/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">an overhauled roster comprising nine newcomers and two returners. It finished the transfer window with a six-man class that ranked No. 1 on 247Sports’ national leaderboard — headlined by former Kansas forward Flory Bidunga and former Oregon point guard Jackson Shelstad.
In Chattanooga and Morehead State, Louisville has scheduled Week 1 opponents that went a combined 33-32 and finished 2025-26 ranked 301st and 283rd, respectively, in KenPom.com‘s adjusted efficiency rankings.
The Mocs, as of early June, ranked 271st in BartTorvik‘s 2026-27 projections. Per EvanMiya.com, coach Dan Earl had seven players enter the portal after going 13-19 in Year 4 with the program.
The Eagles ranked 311th in Torvik’s early projections after Year 2 under Jonathan Mattox ended with a blowout loss in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship game. Mattox, like Earl, also had seven players transfer out from a squad that went 20-13.
The Cards’ 2026-27 nonconference slate features four opponents from its 2025-26 schedule: Baylor, Cincinnati, Kentucky and Memphis.
The games against the Bears and the Bearcats will be held at neutral venues — although that’s a bit of a stretch for the UC matchup, considering it’s set for Freedom Hall, UofL’s home gym of 54 years. A site for the Baylor game had not been announced at the time of publication.
The games against UK and Memphis will be true road tests. The former is scheduled for Dec. 12 at Rupp Arena.
Louisville is also debuting in the Players Era, a 16-team, Thanksgiving week tournament at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas. It drew Texas Tech as its Round 1 opponent Nov. 24 and will face either Oregon or St. John’s (and former coach Rick Pitino) in Round 2 on Nov. 26. The Cards will play at least one more game, on Nov. 27, as part of the Players Era. If they go 3-0, they will compete for a tournament championship Nov. 28.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball schedule to begin vs Chattanooga, Morehead State
Discover more from NAIRAVOICE.COM.NG
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
